Mounting for tying machine



Dec. l7, 1965 w. D. AYRES, JR

MOUNTING FOR IYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1965 IVENTOR.

WALTER D. AYRES,JR.

Dec. 7, 1965 Filed Nov. 26, 1963 w. D. AYRES, JR 3,221,642

MOUNTING FOR TYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l MI r F P uw l mi Q1 i IIIN INVENTOR.

uw |[|I WALTER D. AYRES, JR.

Dec. 7, 1965 w. n. AYREs. JR 3,221,642

MOUNTING FOR TYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 26. 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet :5y

INVEN TOR.

fl WALTER D AYRES,JR.

United States Patent Office 3,221,642 MQUNTING FOR TYING MACHINE WalterD. Ayres, Jr., Oaklawn, Ill., assignor to B. H. Bunn Company, Chicago,Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 326,150 8Claims. (Cl. 100-27) This invention relates to tying machines andparticularly to a mounting therefor.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 278,053, filed May 6, 1963, forApparatus for Tying Moving Bundles, there is described apparatus fortying a bundle of envelopes while said bundle is moving on a conveyor.Since bundle tying machines heretofore known required that the bundle beheld stationary on a table on the machine especially provided for thispurpose, the .adaptation of the tying machine to tying moving bundlespresented certain problems of supporting the machine in fixed relationto the conveyor while at the same time enabling repairs to be made onthe machine without unduly interrupting the operation of the entiresystem. Y

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a tying machineand a mounting therefor which will support the machine in fixed relationto a conveyor, with the twine arm of the machine overhanging theconveyor, while at the same time enabling the machine to be quicklyremoved from the conveyor for repairs or adjustment and replaced by astandby machine.

Although the arm of the well known tying machine normally rotates abouta horizontal axis, in the machine for the conveyorized system the arm,its associated drive mechanism, `and the knot-tying mechanism, are allturned through 90 so that the arm rotates about a vertical axis disposedover the conveyor. To effect such turning of the arm and its drivemechanism, the heretofore known tying ma-chine was removed from thestand normally made integral with it and was placed upon another stand,but was turned through 90 and mounted in that position on the new stand.

It was found, however, that when the machine was turned in the mannerrequired for use with the conveyorized bundle tying system, access tothe knotter of the machine for inspection and repair was rendereddifficult. It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide amounting for the tying machine which will allow the machine to tilt toexpose the knot-tying mechanism thereof and to render access theretomore easy.

In the machine for the aforesaid conveyorized system for tying bundlesit is essential that the operation of the system remain uninterruptedfor a long period of time and that when a shut-down is required, forexample for repairing, adjusting, or restringing the tying machine, thatsuch shut-down be of as short duration as possible. The simplest mannerin which this may be accomplished is by maintaining a standby machine ingood repair and substituting the standby machine for theone at theconveyor when the latter becomes inoperative or its operation becomesunsatisfactory.

It is thus a further object of this invention to provide a mounting fora tying machine which will permit said machine to be fixed to a conveyorfor operation therewith but which, nevertheless, will also permit themachine to be quickly disconnected from the conveyor when the machinerequires repair or adjustment.

A specific object of this invention is the provision of a tiltablesupport for a tying machine with means associated with the support forsafely, and without destructive shock to the machine, arresting thetilting movement of the machine.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of a pre- 3,221,642 Patented Dec. 7, 1965ferred embodiment of the invention when taken together with theaccompanying drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a modified tying machine and amounting therefor made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the machine and itsmounting;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the mounting taken alongline 3 3 of FIG. 2 and in the direction of the arrows at the endthereof.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the mounting taken along line 4-4of FIG. 3 and in the direction of the arrows at the ends thereof;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective View of one of the stop means for thetilted machine;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the mounting of FIG. 4, showing the mountingin a different stage of operation.

In the preferred embodiment selected to illustrate this invention andshown in the drawings, a typical environment for the tying machinecomprises a conveyor, the frame of which is shown at 10 in FIG. l, saidframe having spaced vertical supports 11 and 12 which may be made fromstructural steel having any desired section. The present embodiment ofconveyor is shown constructed from angle irons. Supported for horizontalmovement along the frame 10 is a moving endless conveyor 13, shown indotted outline, on which are mounted and carried bundles of envelopes orthe like, which are to be tied together by the tying machine hereinafterto be described. As set forth in greater detail in the aforesaidco-pending application, the bundles to be tied are not removed from theconveyor for this purpose, but remain thereon and are tied while theyare in motion. To effect this operation, a tying machine, showngenerally at 14, is placed adjacent the conveyor frame, the tyingmachine being of a well known type, insofar as its twinetyingoperations. are concerned, but is modified so that its twine arm 15, bywhich a reach of twine is wrapped around a bundle on conveyor 13,rotates about a vertical axis 16 instead of about a horizontal axis. Thestand which is generally used to support the well known tying machinehas therefore been discarded and a new stand, particularly adapted tosupport the tying machine in its turned position, has been substituted.

The new stand is shown generally :at 17 and is comprised yof a frame 18which may be conveniently constructed of angle irons 19, 20, 21 and 22(FIG. 2), disposed to form upright corner supports for the stand, andspaced horizontal, rectangular, upper and lower frame members 23 and 24,which may be similarly madeA of angle irons. Said frame 17 is mounted onpairs of wheels 25 and 26, one of said pairs (as for example, 26) beingof the caster type to allow the stand 17 to be wheeled in `any desireddirection.

It is necessary, for the successful operation of the conveyorizedsystem, that tying machine 14 have a fixed location relative to conveyorframe 10. This location is determined by upper and lower pads 28 and 29secured to vertical conveyor support 12 against which angle irons- 20and 21 are adapted to bear. Said angle irons 20 and 21 are firmly heldagainst said pads by cam lock devices 30 and 31, each cam lock devicecomprising an outwardly extending pin 32 on an upright corner support,such as 20, and a hook 33 fitted on a vertical conveyor support 12 andprovided with a handle 34 by which the hook may be pressed down over pin32 after the characteristic fashion of a cam lock device to exertcontinuons lateral pressure upon pin 32 in the direction of conveyorframe 10 and thus to lock stand 17 to said conveyor 10. Said stand 17may be released quickly, however, merely by rotating hook 33 in acounter-clockwise direction to free said hook from pin 32, whereuponsaid stand 17 may be wheeled away from conveyor 10.

On the upper surfaces of the rectangular frame member 23 are securedjournals 35 and 36 (FIG. 2) which support a transverse shaft 37 to whichthe lower frame 39 of tying machine 14 is rotatably secured throughsplit bearings 38. If desired, journals 35 and 36 may be split ratherthan bearings 38, it being material only that one set of rotatablesupports be separable to facilitate removal f the machine from the stand17. Frame 39 extends to the left of shaft 37, as viewed in FIG. 1, andnormally rests upon the upper horizontal frame member 49 of the conveyorframe though to illustrate the function of an adjustable secondarysupport hereinafter to be described it is shown resting on saidsecondary support. The center of gravity of the machine 14 is disposedbetween frame 10 and shaft 37, thereby creating a turning moment in thetying machine in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, tocause said frame 39 to bear against horizontal frame member 40. To avoidany accidental tilting of the machine while the machine is in operation,a lock 47 is secured by screws 68 (FIG. 4) to upper frame member 23 saidlock having a cam operated tongue 48 slidable over a horizontalextension 49 (FIG. 3) on frame member 39 to hold the tying machineagainst clockwise rotation or tilting as viewed in FIG. 1. Said lock 47is of known construction and its details are shown more clearly in FIG.6. It may be seen from FIG. 6 that tongue 48 is slidable in guides 62and is activated by a link 63 eccentrically pivoted on a disc 64,rigidly secured to a handle 65 and pivoted in the main supportingstamping 66. The latter is rigidly secured to the upper frame member 23of the stand 17. Link 63 has its other end 67 pivotally mounted intongue 48. When handle 65 is turned, link 63 slides tongue 4S in theguides 62 to project or retract tongue 48 relative to stamping 66.

When tying machine 14 is to be removed from conveyor frame 10, thesupport for frame member 39 on tying machine 14 normally provided byhorizontal frame member 40 of the conveyor frame 10 is, of course,removed, Its place, however, is taken by one or more posts 41 secured tothe upper frame member 23 of the stand 17 and adapted to support tyingmachine 14 in a slightly lower position than frame 10, while stand 17 isremoved from the conveyor. Said posts are preferably adjustable inheight to accommodate differences in floor level and height of conveyorrelative to height of stand 17.

It becomes necessary, on occasion, to examine portions of the tyingmachine which are disposed in the lower regions thereof in proximity tothe shaft 37. Furthermore, it may be necessary to make such examinationor pos sibly to adjust or re-string the machine without removing stand17 from frame 10. Such inspection or re-stringing would be mostdiliicult if the machine 14 were rigidly secured to stand 17. Thepresence of shaft 37 and journals 35, however, provide a means forswinging machine 14 around a horizontal axis passing through the shaft,but since the swinging of the machine about said shaft also shifts thecenter of 4gravity of the machine, it may occur that the said center ofgravity passes to the rear of the axis of shaft 37, which then createsan unbalanced condition, tending to continue the rotation or swinging ofmachine 14 about its shaft. A stop, therefore, is provided for theswinging movement of tying machine 14 in a clockwise direction as viewedin FIG. 1, said stop being shown at 42 and comprising a strip of flatstock bent at 43 to an acute angle. The material of which the stop ismade may be spring steel so that said stop will have some resilience inthe event tying machine 14 is dropped upon it.

Tying machine 14, as shown in FIG. 2, is narower than the upper framemember 23 and hence would normally be free to swing into said frame.Such swinging movement, however, is prevented by a cross-bar 45 whichmay be in the form of an angle iron welded or otherwise secured to theframe portion 46 of tying machine 14. Said bar 45 extends across theframe member 23 and is so disposed on tying machine 14 as to strike stop42 as shown in FIG. 1 in dotted outline. Said cross bar may normally beused as one of two supports for an electric motor (not shown), the otherof said supports being shown at 50.

To further reduce the shock imposed upon tying machine 14 by anacidental dropping of the machine upon stop 42, the upper surface of thebent portion actually contacted by bar 45 is covered with a pad 44 ofrubber or similar relatively soft material. The need for reducing shocksupon the machine is brought about, not only because of possible damageto the mechanism of the tying machine, but in large measure, because ofthe fact that the frame of the machine is made of cast iron and hence isnot suitable for bearing bending stresses, such as would be imposed uponit by said stop.

A 4greater distribution of shock loads is achieved by the use of a xedtransverse bar supported by the sides of upper frame member 23. Said baris designed to support the botom frame members 39 of the machine whensaid machine is tilted to its highest elevation, and has a sleeve 52 ofelastomeric material which also functions to reduce shock loads upon thecast iron frame members of the machine. Bar 51 and stop 42 are designedto support the tying machine at the same time so that transverse shockloads on the tying machine frame are distributed and hence reduced tosafe quantities.

Tying machine 14 is supplied with twine from a ball or spool 53 placedin a covered can 54, the cover of which has a central opening throughwhich the twine 55 passes. The twine is threaded through a fixed guide56 on stand 1'7, a fixed guide 57 on tying machine 14, a twine tensioner58, a fixed guide 59, and then passes through twine arm 15. It iscontacted by the arm 60 of a control switch 61 used in the system of myaforesaid application to stop conveyor 10 if there should be no twineunder tension in twine arm 15.

It may be observed from the dotted position of tying machine 14 in FIG.1 that tilting of the machine does not require that the twine be cut andre-strung with each tilting movement of the machine and that the tiltingmovement does not interfere with the twine in any material way.

When it is desired to tilt a machine on its stand 17, the lock 47 isreleased and the machine is rotated from the conveyor side by pushingagainst any convenient portion of the frame of the machine, such as thebearing for the twine arm 15, until the center of gravity of the machinepasses over shaft 37. The machine will then tend to fall away from theconveyor 10 and such movement should be restrained until the frame ofthe machine strikes stop 4Z and bar 51. Should it fall without control,its fall will be arrested by these stops 42 and 51, but since both stopsare resilient, or covered with resilient material, the shock to themachine frame will be `greatly reduced.

When it is desired to repair the tying machine, or the tying machinesuddenly stops functioning, but the conveyor cannot be stopped longenough to repair or determine the cause of the stoppage, clamps 30 and31 are released and the stand 17, together with its machine 14 arewheeled away from the conveyor and another tying machine mounted on astand, such as 17, is wheeled against, and clamped to conveyor 10.During the movement of the machine and the stand, the machine restsagainst post 41, and lock 47 is in engaged position. It may be desirableto have a number of standby tying machines in readiness for use. All butone of the standby machines may be stored on a bench, and may beinterchanged with the one on the stand by separating the split bearings38 with which each machine is equipped to remove the one on the standand replace it with another machine.

The tiltable tying machine and its stand as described above provide ameans for ensuring the maximum utilization of a conveyorized system fortying bundles by reducing down time due to a malfunctioning tyingmachine to the time required to release two quick-release clamps, move awheeled stand out of the way, move a wheeled stand into the positionpreviously occupied by the malfunctioning machine and engaging twoclamps. Inspection of the knotter mechanism and minor repairs oradjustments of a tying machine can be made in situ by releasing one lockand tilting the machine back against a prepared stop, all from theconveyor side of the machine. Accidental free movement of the machineagainst its stop is arrested by resilient means, thus protecting thefrangible cast iron frame of the tying machine from excessive tensile orshearing stresses.

It is understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrativeof a preferred embodiment of this invention and that the scope of theinvention, therefore, is not limited thereto, but is determined by theaccompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a tying machine and a stand therefor, said machinecomprising a rotatable twine arm,

` means on the machine supporting the twine arm for rotation about avertical axis in cantilever relation to the stand, such that articles tobe tied .are disposed adjacent said stand, and means on the standmounting said machine thereon for tilting movement relative to thestand.

2. The combination described in claim 1, and releas- -able means on thestand and cooperating with the tying machine for locking said tyingmachine against tilting movement about said last mentioned means.

3. In combination, a tying machine and a movable stand therefor, a lowerframe on said tying machine, upper frame members on said stand, atransverse shaft extending under said lower frame on the tying machineand over the upper frame members on the stand, means mounting the lowerframe on said shaft and means mounting said shaft on the uper framemembers, at least one of said mounting means comprising a journal bearing, whereby said tying machine is mounted on said stand for tiltingmovement relative to the stand.

4. The combination described in claim 3, and means on the tying machineframe and stand for releasably locking said machine to said standagainst tilting movement of the machine relative to said stand.

S. The combination described in claim 3, `a source of twine on thestand, a rotatable twine arm on the tying machine, sai-d twine extendingfrom the source of twine on the stand to the twine arm on the machine,and iguide means for the twine on the stand and on the machine adaptingthe twine to accommodate tilting movement of the machine relative to thestand, said guide means on the machine including a twine tightener.

6. The combination described in claim 3, the center of gravity of thetying machine normally being on one side of a line passing through theaxis of the shaft, said machine being tiltable about said shaft suchthat its center of gravity crosses said line, and means for limitingtilting movement of the machine after its center of gravity crosses saidline.

7. The combination described in claim 6, said means for limiting tiltingmovement of the machine comprising a rst stop on the stand, meanssecured to one portion of the said lower frame on said tying machine andadapted to engage said first stop, and a second stop on the standadapted to engage another portion of the tying machine frame.

8. The combination described in claim 6, said means for limiting tiltingmovement of the machine comprising a rst stop on the stand, meanssecured to one portion of the tying machine frame Iand adapted to engagesaid iirst stop and a second stop on the stand adapted to engage anotherportion of the tying machine frame at substantially the same time as therst stop is engaged by said means secured to one portion of the tyingmachine, said second stop comprising a bar, means on the standsupporting said bar in the path of tilting movement of the frame of saidtying machine, and resilient padding on both said stop means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 162,826 5/1875Judson 10G-228 1,354,517 10/1920 Sollazzo 10G-228 X 1,454,545 5/ 1923 LaBombard et al. 100 -4 X 1,522,194 1/ 1925 Labombarde 100-27 X 2,148,1322/ 1931 Plassmeyer. 2,317,934 4/ 1943 Mourey 248-19 2,792,231 5/ 1957Compton 248--22 X 2,972,843 2/ 1961 DuBrofE. 3,109,363 11/ 1963 Collins100-228 FOREIGN PATENTS 449,019 6/ 1936 Great Britain.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, A TYING MACHINE AND A STAND THEREFOR, SAID MACHINECOMPRISING A ROTATABLE TWINE ARM, MEANS ON THE MACHINE SUPPORTING THETWINE ARM FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS IN CANTILEVER RELATION TOTHE STAND, SUCH THAT ARTICLES TO BE TIED ARE DISPOSED ADJACENT SAIDSTAND, AND MEANS ON THE STAND MOUNTING SAID MACHINE THEREON FOR TILTINGMOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE STAND.